President Joe Biden tried to reassure world leaders on Saturday that the United States would not default as he consulted with the heads of Australia, Japan and India in a meeting of the so-called Quad partnership that had been hastily rescheduled because of the debt limit standoff back in Washington.
Hoping to avert an outcome that would rattle the global economy and prove to be a boon to Beijing, Biden opened his third day in Japan at the annual meeting of the world鈥檚 most powerful democracies with a briefing from his staff on the latest fits and starts in talks over how to .
The president also squeezed in meetings aimed at challenging China鈥檚 buildout across the Indo-Pacific. The Quad members originally had planned to , but got together instead on the sidelines of the G7 so Biden could return to Washington earlier on Sunday in hopes of finalizing a deal to increase the U.S. borrowing limit before the government runs out of cash to pay its bills.
Biden said he felt there was headway in the talks with GOP lawmakers.
鈥淭he first meetings weren鈥檛 all that progressive, the second ones were, the third one was,鈥� he said before a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. 鈥淎nd then, what happens is the carriers go back to the principals and say, 鈥楾his is what we鈥檙e thinking about.鈥� And then people put down new claims. I still believe we鈥檒l be able to avoid a default and we鈥檒l get something decent done.鈥�
The has reinforced a fundamental tension shaping Biden鈥檚 presidency: As he has worked to signal to the world that the U.S. is reclaiming the mantle of global leadership, at key moments, domestic dramas keep getting in the way.
Until Saturday, Biden had largely stayed out of the public eye at the summit, forgoing big public statements and leaving Friday鈥檚 leader dinner early. He has been spending time instead by a video monitor in a room next to his hotel suite, where aides in Washington have been keeping him apprised of the back-and-forth of debt limit talks.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan acknowledged that world leaders have pressed Biden about the standoff in Washington. But press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that, while there was intense interest in how the president would resolve a domestic showdown that has geopolitical ramifications, there was no panic 鈥� at least not yet.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not a hair-on-fire type of situation,鈥� she said.
On the margins of the summit, Biden held talks with Albanese in lieu of the now-scrapped visit to Australia. U.S. officials said the trip would be rescheduled, and Biden has invited Albanese to Washington for a state visit.
Biden apologized for skipping Australia. Albanese said he understood the circumstances.
鈥淚 would have done exactly the same thing,鈥� he told Biden, adding, 鈥淚鈥檓 very much looking forward to the state visit.鈥�
The leaders signed a compact pledging to deepen their partnership on developing the raw materials used in clean energy technologies 鈥� as they each seek to move supply away from reliance on China. They also issued a joint statement outlining new areas of cooperation in space, trade and defense.
G7 leaders also sat down to discuss their investments in infrastructure in less advanced economies, a key counterbalance to the loans and construction that China has been providing. Biden said the U.S. has mobilized more than $30 billion in investments to date 鈥渁nd we鈥檙e just getting started.鈥�
During a full meeting in the evening with all of the Quad leaders, Biden repeated his apologies about needing to move their gathering to Japan.
The president is sending U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to fill his spot at a summit of Pacific Island nations in Papua New Guinea on Monday. too, was scrapped in order to get Biden back to Washington more quickly.
Biden鈥檚 visit would have been the first by an American president to the country. Those countries are being aggressively courted by the U.S. and China as the two powers compete for influence in parts of the world where shipping lanes are vital.
In Hiroshima, Biden and other world leaders agreed on a shared framework for improving their own economic resilience 鈥� a recognition that high levels of trade with China have become more of a risk than an opportunity for mature economies.
Sullivan said G7 leaders were acknowledging that 鈥渨e do seek to cooperate with China on matters of mutual interest. And also that we will work to address our significant concerns that we have with China in a range of areas.鈥� He repeated a phrase often used by G7 leaders that the group is looking to 鈥渄e-risk, not decouple from China.鈥�
Biden and first lady Jill Biden attended a dinner Saturday for G7 leaders and other officials who participated in the summit.
Josh Boak And Zeke Miller, The Associated Press
READ MORE:
READ MORE:
Like us on and follow us on .
